CTVA

Gallery of Film Poster Art - page 6

Simple Simon

[No. 16 in Exhibition]

UB IWERKS, one of the most talented animators of the silent and early sound eras, considered by many to be Walt Disney’s oldest friend, was responsible for the distinctive style of the early Disney cartoons and was the creator of Mickey Mouse. In 1930, he left Disney to start his own studio. From 1933 to 1936, Iwerks produced a series of shorts in Cinecolor (a two color film process) named ComiColor Cartoons based upon popular fairy tales and other familiar stories (such as Jack and the Beanstalk, Don Quixote, Ali Baba, and Simple Simon). Lacking financial support, the Iwerks studio folded in 1936. Iwerks returned to Disney, where he won Oscars for his innovations in optical printing and traveling mattes; later he was celebrated for his special effects work in Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds.